Book-Review-The-Woman-in-the-Window

~~~~~

The Woman in the Window

by

A J Finn

I am making, a little late I know, a New Financial Year resolution.  Beginning July 1st I firmly resolve to be more careful with books and authors I select to read!

The Woman in the Window by A J Finn is another of those books which I found neither enjoyable, entertaining or a page turner.  After reading page one, the only pages I wanted to turn were the covers.  Closed for ever and a day.

Fact is, from the moment I saw chapters headed as days and dates, the word “Diary” was screaming at me.

Six chapters in, and I had had enough .

One star and no more time wasted endeavouring to justify why I stopped reading.

If you really want to read The Woman in the Window, you may enjoy it.  But please consider borrowing it from your library before wasting money on a purchase you may regret.

I note that 239,000 Goodreads readers have rated The Woman in the Window as a three star read or better.  More than 110,000 readers rate it four stars.

I will be one of just over 4,000 readers who think it is one star material.

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Book Review-Learning-by-Degrees

Learning by Degrees

(Dan Irvine Book #1)

by

Marty Langenberg

 

Learning by Degrees commences with university Orientation Week pranks and in this instance focuses on the hazing of a gay first year student and the long-term cost of that event.

Learning by Degrees is sort of a sequel to Marty’s previous books in so much as the core characters from Marty’s earlier works (The Broken Vows Trilogy) are reprised again, in Learning by Degrees.

Learning by Degrees commences with university Orientation Week, however the story soon jumps to about ten years after graduation day.  Most participants of the initiation ceremony are now very successful in politics or business.

One by one, four of the six involved in the initiation ceremony, against the gay freshman, turn up very dead.  I didn’t pick the murderer as Learning by Degrees ended with surviving characters explaining why and who, the murderer was.

Learning by Degrees is reasonably well paced with many conversations between characters as they try to solve the mystery of who is the murderer.

I was left a bit baffled when I discovered who the villain was, as from memory, he had a small part (except in name) and was never described (to my knowledge) as a villain.

At the time of writing my review only one other Goodreads reader had rated (5 stars) and reviewed Learning by Degrees.

My three star rating gives Learning by Degrees an average of 4 stars at this point in time.

 

I have rated

Learning by Degrees

as a

read.

Learning by Degrees

can be purchased on-line at 

Fishpond and Amazon

Finally, I must declare that I know and worked with Marty

for several years before he retired.

However, I believe this has not clouded my review.

 

Book-Review-Crusoes-Daughter

Crusoe’s Daughter

by

Jane Gardam

Recently, I chose to listen to Crusoe’s Daughter by Jane Gardam.  What a mistake!   After about ten minutes I was beginning to think of giving it the old heave-ho!  I persisted as my destination neared.  Tried again on the way home; even skipped half a track.  Good bye!

Crusoe’s Daughter began with a six year old telling a story from her point of view, describing her life, aunts, uncles, and anything else.  Really wasn’t listening after five minutes.

I often say narrators can make or break a book.  This narrator did not help, although it could be said that she did a wonderful job of mimicking a six year old girl’s voice.  It was after skipping the latter half of the first track and it the chapter commenced with, ‘When I was twelve….’, or words to that effect, that I rated it a one star book and pulled over to find another.

My final comment, after seeing so many three, four and five star ratings by other Goodreads readers, is that I have just completed a book which I rated as a favourite.

A favourite book is a hard act to follow.

That said I think I will steer clear of Jane Gardam books and this narrator in future.

Book Review-Keep-Her-Safe

Keep Her Safe

by

K. A. Tucker

 

 

Kathleen A. Tucker is another ‘first time’ author, for me, and again an author whose work I thoroughly enjoyed.  Keep Her Safe is a novel which combines romance, long standing friendships, family and corruption within a police force, all in one book.

Police Chief Jackie Marshall has a relatively short life in Keep Her Safe, yet with her death come revelations about the death of another officer, Abe Wilkes, fourteen years earlier.  Officer Abe was a father figure to her son, Noah.  After receiving a letter from the grave Noah sets off to find Abe’s widow.  Not only does Noah find his mentor’s widow, he also finds romance and corruption within those he knows and loves dearly.

Ms Tucker has allowed each of the main characters (including Jackie and Abe) to tell their story in alternating chapters which gives readers a different insight into each side of the story, and in particular a way of solving the mystery of Abe’s death.

Keep Her Safe is a well-paced book and kept me turning pages late into the night.  Any book which keeps me wanting to know what is on the next page is worthy of a four star rating.

I think

Keep Her Safe

is definitely a

read.

At the time of writing my review other

Goodreads readers have rated

Keep Her Safe

 an average of 4.08 stars

from 3,655 ratings

and 617 reviews

Keep Her Safe

can be purchased on-line at

Fishpond, Booktopia, and Amazon

Book Review-Upside-Down-Inside-Out

Upside Down, Inside Out

by

Monica McInerney

My first Monica McInerney book set in Ireland and Australia and features Eva and Joe both on holiday, in Australia, from their normal lives as a hospitality worker and industrial designer respectively.

Both have assumed slightly different identities while down under. Eva due to a mischievous friend has become ‘Neve’, an artist, sculptor and vocalist on some of Enya’s songs, no less.   While Joe, who owns Wheeler Designs has assumed the role of a broke back packer while he does some research into a new back pack design.  In these guises Eva and Joe meet, romance blooms and the time never seems quite right to tell the truth.

Upside Down, inside out was a very enjoyable story.   It was well paced and never once did I feel overwhelmed with superfluous details.   However, many times was I wishing they would just reveal their true identities to each other.

 

Narrator, Melissa Eccleston made this eleven hour novel pass in no time at all. Her character voices were excellent, in my opinion.  Melissa has definitely made it to my preferred narrators list.

Definitely a four star read and I am looking forward to more of Monica McInerney’s novels in the not too distant future.

At the time of writing my review other Goodreads readers had rated Upside Down, Inside Out an average of 3.71 stars from 1,979 ratings and 154 reviews.

I think

Upside Down, Inside Out

is definitely a

read.

At the time of writing my review other

Goodreads readers have rated

Upside Down, Inside Out

 an average of 3.71 stars from

1,979 ratings and 154 reviews

Upside Down, Inside Out

can be purchased on-line at

Fishpond, Booktopia, and Amazon

 

Book Review-The-Red-Earth

This Red Earth

by

Kim Kelly

This Red Earth commences at the outbreak of, and during World War II.   In reality it is a story of a wartime romance in which we follow Bernadette’s (Bernie) and Gordon’s romance.  Their relationship and the war-time stresses it endures are central to the plot.

Gordon endeavours to avoid the conflict by finding a geologist’s job which sees him in Rabaul, while Bernie is at home trying to keep herself in work.  The long distance romance suffers when mail does not reach the recipient which draws conclusions, incorrectly, that love has fizzled out.

There are several reasons why I enjoyed This Red Earth. In no particular order they are; the era in which it was set; the main plot; it gave an insight into the lives of migrants and how they were treated during that conflict. Finally This Red Earth was a reasonably well paced story.

Most audiobooks tend to have one narrator reading the lines of both genders.  This Red Earth, consisted of two fairly distinct story lines used a male and female narrator.  Listeners are left in no doubt as to which or whose, story they are listening to.  Good narrators are the backbone of any novel in my opinion.

I think

This Red Earth

is a

read.

At the time of writing my review other

Goodreads readers have rated

This Red Earth

 an average of 4.16 stars from

63 ratings and 15 reviews

This Red Earth

can be purchased on-line at

Fishpond, Booktopia, and Amazon

 

Book-Review-The-Mermaids-Daughter

The Mermaid’s Daughter

by

Ann Claycomb

 

 

There are not many books that I do not persevere with, and even less that I ‘toss out’.  However, The Mermaid’s Daughter by Ann Claycomb joined this small group  of  ‘toss outs’.

I had forty-minute round trip drive with a new ‘book’.  So I commenced The Mermaid’s Daughter and noted that there were multiple narrators; four, to be precise.

The narrator had lost me within two sentences.  I groaned at the detailed description of a cocktail party where ‘real glasses’ were being used ‘not plastic’.  The next sentence was describing a prepubescent male body and I am not going back to see if my hearing was impaired.  To the best of my knowledge there was no segue, or link, between ‘real glasses’ and prepubescence.

Shortly thereafter, and as I began my return twenty-minute drive, the next chapter began with a new narrator.   That was the end of it.  I pull over and selected another book.  I have often stated that narrators can make or break a book.
The two narrators I heard did nothing to help this book.  The Mermaid’s daughter may be a good read however, in my opinion, the audio version failed.

While writing I have noticed that The Mermaid’s Daughter is described as ‘Chick Lit, Fables & Fairytales, Literary Fiction’.  I have read some authors who write ‘chick lit’ and I will admit to enjoying those books.  However, had I noted ‘fables, fairytales and, Literary Fiction,’ I would not have borrowed this book.

A book I do not finish can only rate one star.

My ‘one star’ rating joins 44 other like minded Goodreads Readers.

I think

The Mermaid’s Daughter

is aaudio book.

However, my rating is based

on a very small part of the book

At the time of writing my review

Goodreads readers have rated

The Mermaid’s Daughter

an average of 3.69 stars,

from 1,443 ratings and 307 reviews.

The Mermaid’s Daughter

can be purchased online at

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon